1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sliding tray unit for communication channel patching of the type commonly mounted in a rack system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sliding tray unit having horizontal, adjacently placed trays, which may independently slide in and out of the rack system. The present invention also relates to a bridging connector, which may attach adjacent sliding trays so that they move in unison.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer and/or telecommunications components, such as sliding trays holding plural patching modules or patching cassettes, are often mounted in a rack system and may be slidably connected to the rack, so that individual ones of the sliding trays can be pulled out from the front of the rack system for service or easier access, and then slid back into the rack system. Such sliding trays have cables connected to rear portions of patching modules thereon, which cables may contain optical fibers and/or electrical wires.
In a common fiber optic arrangement, plural modules or cassettes are attached to a bulkhead plate on a sliding tray. Each module has one or more multi-fiber ports on a rear face, such as two MPO ports. Many single fiber ports are mounted on a front face of the module, such as twenty-four LC ports or twelve LC duplex ports. Inside the module, each optical channel of the MPO port is fanned out and wound about fiber management spools or guides and optionally spliced, attenuated, combined or split, and then passed to one of the ports on the front face of the module.
Care must be taken when sliding a tray with plural modules in and out of a rack system, so that the cables do not become tangled with cables attached to other components or pinched between the moving components and another element and impede the sliding action of the tray. As for the optical fibers themselves, several potential drawbacks may occur each time a sliding tray is slid in or out, and adjacent fibers are tugged on or disturbed. For example, tugging on adjacent fibers can lead to micro-bends, a momentary or permanent disconnection of a signaling channel connector, splice damage, and/or exceeding the minimum bend radius of an optical fiber.